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Ore. Woman Gets Prison In Rainbow Family LSD Case

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) ― A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced an Oregon woman to serve 28 months in prison on a conviction stemming from a probe into drug distribution at last year's Rainbow Family gathering.

U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne sentenced Vanessa Marie Griffee, 32, of Eugene, Ore., after she pleaded guilty earlier in the day to conspiracy to possess and distribute the hallucinogenic drugLSD.

Two other defendants charged in the probe have been sentenced to prison time, and a third was scheduled to be sentenced this month.

According to court records, the investigation started when a source told law enforcement that Wallace Burke, 29, of Durham, N.C., had said he was distributing LSD at Rainbow Family in western Wyoming.

At the source's request, authorities said, Burke later mailed a package containing LSD to a post office box maintained by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Cheyenne.

Investigators said that Burke told them that Griffee had been mailing LSD to him at "post offices that were located near music festivals and hippie gatherings" for several months. Johnson sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Both the prosecution and defense urged the judge to go easier on Griffee, saying she has made strides to turn her life around since her arrest last year.

Griffee told the judge that she had worked with others who sold LSD at concerts. She said she made designs on papers used to hold the drug.

"At the time, I don't think I was trying to break the laws," Griffee said. "At the time, people weren't thinking about it; they were talking about spiritual missions."

About 7,000 members of the Rainbow Family attended the annual gathering last summer on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Big Sandy in western Wyoming. It was marked by a clash between members of the group and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers.

Officers said they fired "pepper balls" at members after they were pelted with rocks and sticks — a charge that several members of the group have denied.

A report by the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union issued after the event contended that the Forest Service engaged in systematic harassment of people who attend Rainbow Family gatherings on public lands.

Jim Anderson, assistant U.S. Attorney, told the judge that Griffee would have faced 63 months to 78 months in prison.

He noted that she's been a good mother to her infant daughter and has taken substance-abuse classes.

Anderson also said the government wouldn't oppose a request from the defense to reduce Griffee's sentence below guideline requirements.

Defense lawyer Terry Harris told the judge that Griffee had been heavily involved in drugs. Harris said she resolved to change after she lost her daughter to Oregon authorities following her arrest on the drug charges. She now has her daughter back.

Johnson earlier this month sentenced Heather Lane McCoy of Eugene, Ore., to four years in prison on her conviction of conspiracy to possess and distribute LSD in the case.

Norman Wayne Metcalf, 30, also of Eugene, Ore., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute LSD and psilocybin in August. He was scheduled for sentencing this month.